Apostate in Plain Sight

Into Her Lap

She continued to intermittently dally with Isabela as she settled into her new lifestyle. It took her six months before the trek to Hightown was as automatic as it had been to head for Gamlen's. Her mother had made friends with all of their neighbors and Hawke had come home more than once to tea with the Arenbergs where she sat awkwardly trying not to picture Messere Arenberg in the state she had first seen him in when she and Fenris had been exploring the house. Leandra also took it upon herself to allow Bodhan and Sandal to live in the mansion in an effort to make Bodhan feel like he was repaying Hawke for saving the boy by acting as their butler. Hawke didn't complain because Sandal would enchant anything she gave him, eagerly waiting by the door each time she went out in case she was bringing home something else he could play with. He also got along famously with Alfie, the two holding rousing conversations while barking back and forth at each other.

As entertaining as Isabela was, Hawke found herself drawn closer and closer to Fenris as Anders continuously gave her the cold shoulder randomly. Her go to group of companions that she would take on her little jobs, that she now did out of charity rather than for the meager coin she made from them, was Varric, Anders, and Fenris. She had almost gotten used to the constant bickering between the two, even came to find it expectantly comforting. Some things never changed.

She found herself one day almost a year after the expedition wandering the Chantry after returning a lost item to one of the brothers. It had been some time since she had stepped foot in the Chantry and she was surprised to see Prince Sebastian talking with the Revered Mother. She paused, listening in and wondering why he was still in the city. "I thought it would end here. That young lady, Hawke, she decimated Flint Company. No survivors," Sebastian said and Hawke moved closer, interested after hearing her own name. "Yet... now that I know who sent them, it's harder to see their deaths as justice."

"Death is never justice," the Revered Mother said sadly with a shake of her head.

Sebastian looked away from her in shame and began to speak as his gaze found Hawke where she was hovering. "I... Hawke! We were just talking about you."

"Carry on," she offered with a grin as she approached the pulpit where they stood. "I love to eavesdrop."

" 'Hawke said sarcastically'," Varric narrated from her side.

She turned a glare on him as he grinned at her. "You know, I hate it when you do that."

" 'Hawke muttered in an angry aside to the dwarf...' " he teased. It had become his latest joke to do that every time they actually had something interesting to do as if he were egging her on so he could write it all down later.

"If, ah, you two have a moment?" Sebastian said politely, drawing Hawke's attention from Varric who went quiet. "I've learned who hired Flint Company... the Harimanns, a noble family of Kirkwall. They were my parents' allies. It's hard to believe they betrayed us like this."

"Any idea why they turned on you?" Hawke asked, genuinely interested as she crossed her arms.

"Money? Power? It's hard to say," Sebastian said with a shrug. "Lady Harimann was always jealous of my family for being royalty when hers were merely nobility... But I can't imagine that pushing her into outright murder."

Hawke sighed wistfully. "This is why the cycle of violence never gets broken."

"You jest, but that's the truth," The Revered Mother said sadly. "Give this up, Sebastian. Dedicate yourself to the Chantry, as you swore."

Sebastian ignored the Mother's pleas and turned to Hawke. "I must speak with Lady Harimann and find out what drove her to this madness. But I am the last of my line. I should not go alone and make myself a target."